Eye-Openers: Meet the Mondavi water witch

Aside from being a vice president for his family's winery, Charles Krug Winery, Marc Mondavi is a water witch. He talks about his water witching and demonstrates his abilities. Photo: The Chronicle

From the local scene:

Stacy Finz pens a great piece on how Marc Mondavi — a member of the Mondavi wine royalty — finds water in his vineyards in a slightly wacky way: “He’s a bona fide water witch – someone who can find groundwater without the use of science. It’s also known as water dowsing, divining or doodlebugging. Oftentimes dowsers use forked willow, peach or witch hazel branches as divining rods.” Highly recommended reading. [San Francisco Chronicle]

If you’re not content to sit on your couch and watch Hawks take on the Rockets tonight, here’s a round-up of New Year’s Eve events around the Bay. [San Francisco Chronicle]

From the national scene:

In case you missed it earlier this month, Ruth Bourdain’s list of 2013 food predictions, including: “Retro ’80s cuisine goes big time as chefs recreate the era with tuna tartare served on coke spoons.” [Comfort Me With Offal]